


Creepy and Cooky

by FallzVentus



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adoption, Blood, Blood Drinking, Brains, Bullying, Gen, Kid Main Characters, Monster Family - Freeform, Monsters, Orphan - Freeform, Trans Character, Werewolf, Witch - Freeform, Zombie, ghost - Freeform, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-17 05:09:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21261107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallzVentus/pseuds/FallzVentus
Summary: Dani is constantly bullied for being an orphan by a boy named Ralph. This one boy has made her school a nightmare for her. And now, she's being blackmailed with the one thing that was her outlet. She doesn't know how much more of this she could take. She just wants to be left alone.But what if someone could grant her that wish and more?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Creepy and Cooky

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween everyone! My yearly story is on time for once. I hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful Halloween!! This was inspired by the Addams Family and now that I think about it, the Munsters as well.

Dani couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. The school was just becoming too much for her to handle. It was tiring to go in day after day with a fake smile on her face. The laughing and teasing were becoming more and more hurtful. She just wanted to curl up in a hole and never come out. She brought her knees closer to her chest and allowed her cries to echo through her surroundings. 

Her head snapped up when she heard footsteps coming towards her. She made herself even smaller. She just wanted to be left alone. The footsteps suddenly came to a stop. Before her was a man in a green and black hooded cloak. His face was obscured by shadows. Dani sniffled as she looked at him.

“W-What do you want?” she asked. The man knelt down before her. She looked to see that he had brown eyes.

“I heard someone crying and figured that person needed some help. What’s your name?” he asked. Dani knew she shouldn’t respond, but this was already nicer to her than her entire class.

“Dani,” she replied.    
  
“Dani, what are you doing out here in the woods by yourself? I’m sure your parents are worried.”   
  
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t have any. I came out here to be alone.” 

“Alone huh? You've traveled very far to be alone.” The man sat down next to the young girl and moved some of her hair out of her face. “What made you want to be alone?” Dani wiped away her tears and placed her head on her knees.  
  
  
“The kids at school are awful. Especially Ralph. He’s the worst,” she said. 

“Oh? Why is Ralph so bad?”   
  
  
“Ever since he found out I was an orphan, he’s just been mean to me. He keeps stealing my notebooks and getting me in trouble for things I didn’t even do. Now, he’s blackmailing me. He stole my story notebook. If I don’t do what he says, he’s going to read it in front of the entire class.”   
  
  
“That’s rather cruel. What has he had you do?”   
  
  
“I can’t say anything when he blames me for something. I have to keep acting like I did it. I also can’t fight back against any names he calls me. It’s been going on for so long, I don’t know if I could take it much longer.”   
  


“How come you haven’t told your teacher or anyone else?”  
  
  
“All the adults think I’m some trouble maker and not worth listening to. I hate it! I just want all of them to leave me alone.” The man hummed and sat in silence. Dani started crying again. Her tears were the only sounds that could be heard in the woods. When the younger started to calm down, the man stood up and held out his hand. The girl looked up at him.    
  


“What if I said that I had an idea that would make Ralph stop being mean to you at the very least?” he said. Dani sniffled and took his hand. The man’s eyes glowed a light green. His smile never changed. 

“What idea is that?” 

“Well, we just need to invite him to your home.” 

* * *

Ralph chuckled as he read the notebook in his hands. He couldn’t believe someone would actually write stuff like this. Inserting yourself into a TV show was one of the dumbest things ever. These adventures were stupid too. He couldn’t wait to read this nonsense to the others. It was only a matter of time and patience. 

  
“Hey Ralph, what are you reading?” a boy from the lower grade asked. The older boy quickly closed the book and held it away from him. 

“It’s my get out of jail free card. As long as I have this, I can never get in trouble with the teachers,” he said smugly. 

“Really?! Let me see.” Ralph held the other boy back.   
  
  
“In due time. The person I took this from is bound to crack soon. She can’t handle being in trouble with the teachers.” The other boy’s eyes widened. 

“Is that Dani’s notebook? How does that keep you out of trouble with the teachers?”   
  
  
“That’s for me to know.” 

“Aw come on!”

The other boy attempted to wrestle the book from Ralph, but the older boy held him off. He wasn’t going to let anyone else in on his plan. This was for him and him alone. If all the other kids knew, what would be the point in blackmailing Dani in the first place? 

“Um, Ralph,” a voice said. The two boys stopped wrestling and looked at the person before them. Dani was looking at the ground and shifting her feet back and forth. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. 

“What do you want, Dani?” he asked as the younger boy got off him. Dani lifted her head up. 

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” she said. 

“We’re talking now, idiot.” Ralph noticed Dani’s fist tighten. He smirked. “But I guess I can spare you some of my time. It better be quick. Recess is only for so long.”

Dani nodded and led Ralph to the school doors. No one would pay attention to this area. Dani seemed to be contemplating what to say. Ralph rolled his eyes. 

“So, what do you want, nerd?” he said causing the girl to jump. 

“Well, my... my mom wants to invite you over for dinner,” she said. This took Ralph by surprise. 

“Your mom? Are you calling that caretaker lady your mom now? She’s not your mom. She just keeps you to pay off taxes.”    
  


“No, I...I got adopted last night. My mom wants to meet all my school friends. She called your mom and she said it was okay if you wanted to go.” 

“So someone really adopted a dork like you? I didn’t think it was possible. Though, your parents might be losers so they probably aren’t in their right mind or something. They’ll give you back in about a week.” Dani’s fist tightened again. 

“Can you just not be a jerk for a minute and tell me if you wanna come over or not?” Ralph shrugged. 

“Sure, I’ll come. Who knows how many ‘story notebooks’ you have? I need more material to read.” Dani’s fist relaxed. 

“Cool. I’m getting picked up after school. Meet me in front of the parking lot and then we’ll head over from there.”    
  


“You mean I have to be seen with you after school?” Ralph groaned. 

“You already agreed you’ll come, so just suck it up,” she said and walked away. Ralph watched her walk. He didn’t really want to go, but it was the chance of a lifetime to get even more blackmail on her. How could he pass that up? He chuckled and ran off to play with the other boys. What he didn’t know was that Dani was holding back a smile. Things were going to get very interesting.

* * *

Ralph yawned as he leaned against the wall. School had finally ended and now he was stuck waiting to be picked up with Dani of all people. He could’ve left with his friends much earlier, but, like Dad always says, he had to be a man of his word.. He said he was going over to her house, and she was going to give him all the new blackmail material to work with. Now if only their ride would hurry up and get here!    
  
“What’s taking so long?!” he groaned. Dani rolled her eyes.    
  


“Traffic is a thing. Just be patient,” she said.    
  
“How far away do they live? This is a small town; there’s no way they ran into-”   
  


A car horn stopped Ralph from finishing his sentence. Both kids looked up to see a black limo drive up to them. The boy’s eyes widened as a man with brown hair and green eyes stepped out of the driver’s seat. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a grey tie. The man smiled at Dani and gave a slight bow.    
  
“Hello, Ms. Dani. Did you have a good day at school today?” he asked. The girl smiled at him. 

“It was ok, Matthew,” she replied. Matthew nodded and looked over to Ralph.

“Am I to assume this is your guest for tonight?” 

“Yeah, this is Ralph.”    
  


“I see.” The man looked Ralph up and down. The 5th grader just waved in response. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Ralph. Shall we be off then?” 

Matthew walked towards the back of the limo and opened the door. The two children climbed inside and made themselves comfortable on the leather seats. 

“I have to admit, you’re living the high life. I doubt it will last long, though,” Ralph said as we watched Matthew begin to drive away from the school.

“Don’t. Just don’t. I just want this over with,” Dani replied moving as far away from Ralph as possible.

“Look, we just need to play nice with each other. Ease your parents into realizing how much of a waste of time you are.” 

“You just don’t know when to stop, do you?” Dani could feel her eyes start to water, and turned toward the window.

“Of course I do. It’s just not now.” 

Dani rolled her eyes, but kept them firmly on the buildings whizzing by. It was going to be a long ride. 

* * *

The car pulled up to what looked like a haunted house. The whole building was painted in light and dark grays. The yard did not look well taken care of either. The grass was yellowish-brown and the trees around it had no leaves. But given it was fall, it wasn’t that surprising. Though it was odd the other yards were still full of life. The side door opened and the children saw Matthew standing outside and waiting for them. 

“Welcome home, Ms. Dani,” he said and made way for them to climb out of the car. As they stepped out, Ralph took another look at the house. 

“Why does your house look so creepy?” he asked. 

“I think it’s cool,” Dani replied as they walked to the front door. ‘But the inside is better.” Ralph shrugged and followed her inside the house.

They were immediately met with a majestic entryway. A chandelier hung in the middle of the room. Its lights made the burgundy colored walls feel more warm and welcoming. A grand staircase stood in front of them with purple carpet covering the steps. Family pictures and antique portraits decorated the walls, along with some kind of masks Ralph had never seen before. 

“Impressive,” he said. 

“Told you,” Dani replied.

“Is that my favorite author I hear?” a female voice said. The kids looked to their left to see a tall woman with long dark red hair and brown eyes. She wore dark jeans and a red blouse that seemed to flow with her movements. She was making her way down the hallway with a grin on her face, heels clicking on the wood floors. She picked up Dani causing the young girl to laugh. 

“Hi mom,” she said as the older woman put her down. 

“Hey sweetie, how was school?” 

“It was okay. The teacher didn’t give us any homework today.” 

“That’s good.” The woman looked over to the other 10-year-old. “And this must be Ralph.” The boy nodded.

“Yes, ma’am.” The woman chuckled.  
  
  
“Ma’am makes me feel old. You may call me Mrs. Ophelia. Welcome to the Warden House.” Ralph blinked. 

“So Dani’s last name is Warden now?” Ophelia nodded. 

“She’s a part of our family now.” 

“That’s a cool name, Mrs. Ophelia.” 

“Why thank you, Ralph.” Dani rolled her eyes. 

“Mom, I’m going up to my room,” she said. 

“I left you a surprise on your bed, Dani. I want you to try it on, okay?” 

“Kay!” Dani ran up the stairs. Ralph turned to follow, but Ophelia placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Give her a bit to get ready. Why don’t you join me in the living room?” she said. 

“Okay, Mrs. Ophelia.” 

Ralph followed the mother further into the house. He looked around to see more portraits hung on the walls and antique clocks. Old vases held various types of flowers, though some were just filled with stems. The more Ralph saw of the house, the more it started to feel like a museum. His assumption was strengthened once he saw the lion rug in the living room. 

“Is that a real lion?” he asked. Ophelia laughed. 

“Oh gods no. Why would I buy the dead body of a precious wild predator? I'd rather have one as a pet. Sadly, they’re illegal in this area,” she said. Ralph nodded slowly and moved to the couch. Compared to the other items in the room, the couch looked modern. He sat down and watched as Ophelia picked up a bouquet of flowers. 

“Dani has told me so little about you,” she said. He raised a brow. 

“Yeah?” 

“Yup. I wanted to get to know her friends. So, how did you two meet? Do you get along well?” Ralph nodded while looking around the room. 

“Yeah, we sit next to each other in the same class. We started talking from there.” The woman hummed as she added more flowers to the bouquet. 

“That’s nice. I’m happy Dani has some friends in school. She didn’t have any at the orphanage since many of the other children were much younger than her. I’m happy to know she’s not lonely.” Ralph smiled. 

“Yeah, Dani is pretty cool.” 

As the two continued to talk, they were interrupted by the sound of running feet. Ralph looked up to see a boy with shaggy black hair, brown eyes, and bandages and stitches all over his body. Ralph blinked in surprise at the boy’s state. Ophelia smiled at the young boy. 

“Do you need something, Damien?” she asked. The boy nodded. 

“I can’t find Sutha. I’ve looked everywhere,” he whined. Ophelia hummed. 

“Uncle Bram might have her. He’s in the basement,” she said. 

“Thanks mom!” The boy smiled and ran out of the room.   
  
“No running in the house!” Ralph chuckled. No wonder the kid had so many bandages. 

“Who’s Surtha?” he asked. 

“Damien’s bear. She’s been his best friend for years now.” Ralph shrugged. The kid looked really young. It wasn’t surprising that he would still have a teddy bear. He sat quietly until he heard Ophelia yelp. 

He looked over to see a tall man with black hair and green eyes holding the mother from behind. Heavy bags could be seen under his eyes as he kissed the woman’s cheek and nuzzled his face into her neck. Ophelia smiled and patted his cheek. Ralph felt his face heat up. 

“Bjorn, we have a guest. You know better than to scare me like that.” Ophelia warned, looking down at the man. 

“Sorry, my love, but I’ve made myself quite famished. Worked without eating.” 

“Again? I’ve told you to stop doing that. You’ll turn to dust if you keep that up.” Ophelia sighed. “I’ll feed you in a little bit. I have to-” 

Running feet interrupted her once more. Ralph thought it was Damien again. Maybe he found his teddy bear and wanted to show his mother. Instead, it was Dani. She ran up to Ophelia in a blue dress with black stars. She hugged the woman tightly. Ophelia smiled and patted her head. 

“Are those more comfortable than those pants you had to wear?” she asked the young girl. Dani quickly nodded.   
  
  
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” she replied with glee.

“I’m glad you like them. We can go shopping after school tomorrow to get you some more.”

“Really?” 

“Yup. Anything for my favorite author.” 

“Thank you, mom. I’m gonna take Ralph upstairs so we can play.”   
  
  
“Okay, I’ll call you when dinner is ready.” 

“Alright. Come on Ralph.” 

Ralph nodded and followed the girl up the stairs. The decor upstairs almost mirrored downstairs, except there were a few suits of armor with swords standing up in the hallway. Dani had to pull him back from playing with one. Her room had a couple of posters, but it was obvious she was still in the middle of making it her own. He sat on the bed after dropping his backpack on the floor and smirked. 

“So, where do you keep your other notebooks? I’m sure my friends will love some new reading material,” he said. Dani glared. 

“There’s no way I’m letting you get more things to use against me. Besides, you took my only notebook,” she replied as she rummaged through a box. 

“I don’t believe you. You have to have more notebooks somewhere in this house.”   
  
  
“Sorry to disappoint you.” 

Ralph scoffed. This was fine. He’d find what he was looking for one way or another. He continued to try to get some information from the girl, but she ignored him. She just continued to look through the boxes. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Dani walked over to open the door only to reveal Matthew on the other side. 

“Yes, Matthew?” she asked. 

“Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Dani, but Lady Absinthe asked for you?” he said. Ralph tilted his head in confusion. 

“Lady Absinthe?” he questioned. 

“Yeah, my grandma,” she said. 

“Wait so you have a mom, dad, brother, uncle, AND grandmother now?” 

“It’s as if I was adopted into an entire family.” Dani sighed. “I’ll be right back. Don’t touch anything.” 

Dani walked out the door and Ralph laughed. Who the heck did she think she was, telling him what to do? He’d show her once he found more of those notebooks. He stood up to look around and turned to see that Matthew was still standing in the doorway. Instead of the welcoming look he first received from the man when they met, Ralph was met with a cold and angry glare. 

“Yes?” the boy asked stepping back. The butler stayed in place. 

“Don’t think that everyone is for this little game your playing,” The butler laughed. 

“W-What game?” The boy asked, taken aback by the sudden change in demeanor. 

“Okay. Keep up with the façade. But I have a word of advice for you, boy.”    
  
“Yeah?” 

“I’d start rethinking your misdeeds and start a road toward redemption. You know what you’re doing is wrong and you’re continuing to lie about it. We don’t like liars in this house.” Matthew smirked before walking away from the door. Ralph stood in place for a few seconds, before running to the door to see where Matthew went. He was nowhere to be found. The boy shook his head. 

“Dani probably told him to do that. Oh, she’s gonna get it,” he mumbled before he started looking around the room. 

He combed through every box and every drawer, but couldn’t find another of her story notebooks anywhere. He groaned and started to search the bed. Nothing there either. He frowned and tapped his foot in thought. If it wasn’t in this room, it had to be somewhere in this house. He quickly put everything back where he found it and left the room. 

Ralph walked around the house to try to find any place that the girl would have hid her story notebooks. He checked the suits of armor. The vases. The grandfather clocks. Everything he figured would be a good hiding spot. It wasn’t anywhere on the second or first floor. That only left the basement.

He opened the first floor doors until he came across one that led to a staircase going down. A few lightbulbs illuminated the way and he grinned. 

“Can’t hide those books from me. I will find them,” he said to himself as he made his way downstairs. 

He heard a growling sound echo up the staircase. Did they have a dog? The deeper he went, the louder the growling became. He felt a prickle of fear, but shook his head against it. It was just a dog. Nothing he couldn’t handle. 

There was suddenly a loud crash. Ralph jumped and almost lost his footing. "What the heck was that?!" He gulped as he made his way to the bottom of the stairs. His eyes widened at the sight before him. 

A bear, a giant black bear, was wrestling with a gigantic wolf. The wolf growled as it rolled around with the bear. For every bite the wolf left on the bear’s body, the bear swiped with its claws. Ralph was in shock. This couldn’t be real, right? He just hit his head or something. There was no way he was witnessing a mutant wolf and a bear have a one on one fight. 

“You've got this Surtha!” a boy’s voice cheered. Ralph looked over to see Damien sitting on top of a box and cheering. Surtha? Ralph looked over to the bear. That was Surtha?! 

The two animals broke apart and growled at each other. Ralph tried to back away, but tripped on the bottom stair and fell backward. The wolf stopped growling and looked over to the boy. He paled. Was the wolf going to eat him?

They held eye contact until the wolf began to shrink. He slowly turned into a man with black hair and blue eyes. He wore loose-fitting clothes and looked at the boy with concern. 

“Are you okay?” he asked walking closer to Ralph. The boy flinched backward. 

“What’s up Uncle Bram?” Damien asked, running over. He wasn’t aware of the box in front of his feet and tripped. As he landed on the floor, his head flew off of his neck and rolled in front of Ralph. Bram sighed. 

“Damien, what has your mother told you about running so much? Now we have to staple your head back on.” Damien blinked and looked over to his uncle. 

“Sorry, Uncle Bram.” 

Ralph had seen enough. He screamed and clambered up the stairs, breaking into a run once he hit the landing. He didn’t hear them calling out for him. Monsters. They were monsters! He needed to get out of here. 

He turned in a random direction, hoping it led to the front door. The purple glow that met his eyes, however, told a different story. 

  
Right in the middle of the kitchen were Ophelia and Bjorn. They were standing in the middle of a circle of candles with a purple flame on each wick. Bjorn had his teeth pierced into her neck as blood dripped down her body and onto the floor. His eyes glowed red as he drank the blood leaving her veins. The bags under his eyes lessened with each gulp. Ophelia's eyes were rolled to the back of her head as she mumbled in some language that Ralph didn’t understand. His eyes were filled with terror. This COULD NOT be happening. Bjorn removed his bloodstained mouth from her neck and wiped his lips. 

“Thank you, my love. I feel better already,” he said. The purple flames returned to a normal orange as Ophelia blinked and looked lovingly at her husband. 

“Just don’t work yourself to starvation anymore, okay?” The two smiled at each other before Ophelia turned to see the terrified 10-year-old. She smiled. “Oh, Ralph. Dinner will be ready soon.” The boy turned around and ran. 

There had to be a way out of here. There just had to! He ran through the house, desperately trying to find an exit. He eventually came across the entryway from before. He made a beeline for the front door until he saw an elderly woman with long gray hair and brown eyes floating just above the ground. He skidded to a stop. The old woman hummed and turned to face the boy, the paint on the walls starting to peel around her. 

“Oh, you must be Dani’s friend. Why do you look so scared, little one?” she asked as she floated closer to him. He didn’t stop to think. He turned around and ran up the stairs. He heard the old woman sigh and whistle. Her voice echoed through the halls. 

“Do me a favor and calm that boy down,” she said.

Ghostly hands started to grow from the walls, all reaching out to grab him. Some were joined with heads, voices rising in ghastly groaning He ignored it all and ran straight into Dani’s room. He slammed the door behind him and panted. What the hell was wrong with this family?! 

“Uhhhh, you okay?” he heard behind him. He screamed and turned around only to see Dani looking at him in confusion. She was holding a rag doll in her hands. His breath was haggard as he looked around the room. Everything seemed normal. Maybe he was finally safe. 

“Ralph, are you okay? I came back and you were gone?” Dani said as Ralph walked closer to her. 

“Look, you need to show me a way out of here,” he said. Dani tilted her head.    
  


“A way out? But you’re staying for dinner?” 

“Like hell I am!”

“Language young man,” an elderly voice scolded. Ralph screamed again and looked around. He didn’t see anyone. He looked to the doll and watched as its head twisted backward to look at him. “Don’t use such foul language in front of a lady. It’s rather rude,” the doll said. Ralph started backing up. 

“T-The doll... i-it’s talking..” he stuttered out, trying to feel for the door but refusing to turn his back. 

“Dude, do you need like a glass of water or something?” Dani said walking closer. 

“I tried talking to him earlier, but he just ran away screaming,” the doll said.    
  
“Really Granny?” Dani asked the doll. Its head nodded. 

“Something must have spooked him.” 

“G-Granny?” Ralph said. Dani nodded. 

“Yeah, Granny Absinthe. She gave me this doll. Cool, huh?” she said. 

Ralph thought differently. His hand finally found the doorknob. He didn’t care what it took at this point. The blackmail wasn’t worth this. He needed to get out of here. The door behind him suddenly vanished, causing him to finally turn around. He looked up to see Matthew standing behind him. 

“Dinner is ready,” he announced, looking down at the two. The doll’s head returned to its normal position as the elderly ghost floated out of it. 

“Finally! I’ve been looking forward to this lasagna all day,” the ghost said. Dani laughed. 

“Granny Absinthe you don’t eat,” she said as she followed the ghost. 

“Says you, girl.” 

Ralph watched in frozen horror as they followed Matthew out the door. How could Dani act like this was normal? This wasn’t normal in the slightest. This house was full of monsters. People that could eat her. People that could eat him! What if they were the lasagna for the night?! Matthew was looking at him patiently. 

“Mr. Ralph?” he said. 

“C-C-C-Coming,” the boy stuttered out. He grabbed his backpack and headed downstairs. 

He thought he could make a run for it once reaching the bottom of the grand staircase, but Matthew watched his every step. Who knew what horrors the butler was hiding? Ralph didn’t want to chance it. He was guided to the dining room where everyone was seated.

Damien had his head on the table as he talked to Dani, who sat right next to him. Bjorn watched the two with a smile on his face as he sat across from them and drank from a goblet. Bram was at the end of the table, tearing into what looked like raw meat. It's blood splattered all over his clothes and hands as he ripped a section off with his sharp teeth. Absinthe was sitting next to him and chiding him about table manners. Ophelia was smiling as she served what looked like gray mush out of... a floating pot. Ralph didn’t know how much more of this he could take. 

“Ralph, aren’t you going to sit?” Dani asked. The boy looked over to the girl and saw the empty seat beside her. He carefully nodded and climbed into the chair.    
  


Ophelia plopped the gray mush on the plate before him. Upon a closer look, he could see some small spots of pink and... a pulse. He was convinced his food was pulsing before him. How the heck was this lasagna? He couldn’t really figure out what it was. He looked over to Dani to see her happily eating it. He was gonna puke. 

“Ralph,” he heard, causing him to jump. Ophelia was smiling at him. 

“Y-Yes Mrs. Ophelia?” he asked. 

“While you’re here, I was wondering if I could ask you something. You see, we’ve heard so much about Dani’s writing that we wanted to read what stories she wrote, but she told us her notebook was stolen. Do you have an idea of who could have done such a thing?” she asked. Ralph looked over to Dani who was watching him expectantly. 

Was this all her doing? Was this just to get back the notebook? He glared at her. 

“No, I can’t say I do,” he said as he poked at his food.   
  
  
“You know, Ralph, I really don’t like liars.” Ophelia said slowly.

The room grew cold. The boy looked up to see everyone looking at him. Bram had a mischievous look in his eyes and his teeth dripped with blood. Bjorn’s eyes glowed red as he gave the boy a blank stare. The ghostly hands Absinthe summoned earlier surrounded her as the table and dishes started to shake. Damien held up his head to get a proper vantage point to glare at the boy. Ophelia just watched him with purple glowing eyes. 

“Now, Dani told me you were there when it was stolen, so you must know who took it, right?” she said. The room started to grow darker. Ralph shook his head. 

“I’m sorry. I really don’t know.” 

“Liar,” the other family members sang. The darkness grew. Ophelia shook her head. 

“I really don’t like liars, Ralph. Especially ones that hurt my little girl. She’s a Warden now, and I plan to protect this family.” The woman took a spoonful of the gray mush and ate it. She gave the boy a sinister grin. “Even if I have to devour their brains to do it.” Ralph's eyes darted to his food again. Its pulse was stronger and more obvious. This was someone’s brain. He was eating a person’s brains. He quickly stood up and pulled the notebook out of his bag. He stuffed it in Dani’s hands. 

“I’m sorry I stole it! I’m sorry I used it against you to get you to do what I wanted! I’ll leave you alone I promise just please don’t eat my brain!” he screamed. 

He grabbed whatever of his things he could get his hands on and ran out the door.

* * *

  
  


Dani laughed as she watched Ralph run out of the house. She couldn’t believe this worked! They really did scare him enough to leave her alone. The other members of the table started to laugh as well.  
  
  
“You should’ve seen his face in the basement! All I did was shift and he was paler than a sheet!” Bram said as he wiped away a tear. Bjorn chuckled. 

“I wish you were there when I was feeding off of Ophelia. Nice touch with the magic circle, honey,” he said. Ophelia giggled. 

“Oh you know, I try,” she said as she snapped her fingers. The brain matter turned back into lasagna. Absinthe huffed. 

“Serves that boy right for what he did to this poor girl. I wish we were able to do a bit more,” the ghost raved. Matthew chuckled. 

“Now, now, I think you've traumatized him just enough,” he said. A green mist rolled off his body as he grew shorter in size. In Matthew’s place was an older teen with brown hair, green eyes, and a green hooded cloak with black snake markings. Dani ran over to him and hugged him.    
  


“Thank you so much, Jack,” she said. Jack smiled and hugged her back.    
  
“It was nothing, kid. I love dabbling in revenge plots here and there. What matters is that he will be leaving you alone and you got your notebook back.” 

“Yeah.” The young girl looked at her notebook and gave a sad smile. “It was also nice to have a family for a little bit.” She turned to the Warden family. “Thank you for this and treating me like I was your daughter. It was nice to experience what it was like to have a family, even if it was only for a couple of hours.” Damien frowned at her. 

“Who said it was for a couple of hours?” he said. Dani blinked. 

“Huh?”    
  


“Did you not tell her Jack?” Ophelia gasped and looked at Jack. The teen shrugged. 

“I figured it would be best if you surprised her.” Dani looked back and forth between the family and Jack. 

“Surprise me with what?” Bjorn smiled at her. 

“Dani, we were actually planning to adopt you,” he said. Dani dropped her notebook.

“W-What?” 

“Jack didn’t find you by chance in the forest. I saw you run there every day while I was running errands. The headmistress there told me about your situation and I asked Jack to come up with this plan of revenge since those are more his thing,” she explained. 

“And I am always happy to help,” Jack said with a snake-like grin.   
  
“I knew as soon as I met you in person that I wanted you to be a part of our family. So, if you’ll have us, I’d really like to be your mom.” Dani was holding back tears. 

“S-So that wasn’t a fake adoption? It was all real?” Dani felt her eyes begin to water again, but this time from happiness.

“Yup! We’re siblings now!” Damien grinned. Absinthe floated over and ruffled the girl’s hair. 

“It’s nice to have a granddaughter as well. I can teach you all sorts of things like I did Ophelia.” Ophelia groaned. 

“Mother, we want her to stay, not run off,” she said. The ghost shouted in objection. 

The room went silent as they heard sniffling. Everyone looked over to see Dani’s eyes overflow with tears. She ran over to Ophelia and cried into her stomach. The woman knelt down and smiled at her. 

“So, is that a yes?” she asked while wiping away the girl’s tears. The 10-year-old nodded her head and hugged the older woman. Bjorn knelt down and joined in on the hug. 

“Welcome to the family, Dani,” he said 

Jack smiled as he watched the family form a group hug over the crying girl. It wasn’t every day that his plots ended like this. He turned around and made his way out the door. The wind blew by and ruffled his clothes. He started to walk down the block while whistling a tune and snapping along. 

Just another creepy autumn night. 


End file.
